Australia and New Zealand Financial Aid

Administrators--

National Conference 2014

• Program Expenditures• Trademark Terms of Use• The President’s Principles of Excellence• Best Practices• GI Bill and Financial Aid

Agenda

Barrett Y. Bogue | GI Bill Outreach Development Team LeaderU.S. Department of Veterans Affairsbarrett.bogue@va.gov

Program Expenditures

• ‘‘GI Bill®’’ is a federally registered trademark owned by VA.

– VA trademarked the term to stop deceptive and misleading promotional efforts targeting GI Bill educational beneficiaries.

• Authorized to use the trademark:

– Education/ training institutions eligible to receive GI Bill benefits

– State Approving Agencies

– Recognized Veterans Service Organizations

• Must use the trademark symbol ‘‘®’’ in the most prominent place and give attribution (wording on http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill along with full instructions on Terms of Use).

• Third-party users

– Cannot use the term in company names, internet domain names, logos

– Can only use the term to promote VA benefit programs

• Report suspected violations by email to GI-Bill.Trademark@va.gov

Trademark Terms of Use

May 2012Sent letter to encourage participation in PoE to institutions

June 2012Began conducting informational webinars for schools and professional organizations

July 2012Released the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

September 2012Submitted 90-Day Status Report for Implementation and Enforcement & Compliance to White House

October 2012Registered GI Billâ TrademarkDeveloped standardized intake form for Complaint System

December 2012

Published revised 2012 DoDi 1322.25

February 2013Launched the College Scorecard

March 2013Received approval for System of Record Notice (SORN) for the Centralized Complaint System

April 2013Completed two market surveys

Submitted the PL 90-Day Report to Congress

Instituting the Principles of Excellence

Instituting the Principles of Excellence cont. June 2013Updated the SCO Handbook

August 2013Launched CareerScope pilot

October 2013Provided additional updates to the SCO Handbook

Published student outcome measure definitions on College Navigator

December 2013Received approval for Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) / OMB Information Collection

January 2014Launched Complaint System and began processing complaints

February 2014

Launched Comparison Tool

Began identifying institutions for targeted risk-based reviews

March 2014Finalized initial crosswalk of VA and ED data

Published GI Bill® Trademark Terms of Use in Fed Register

Began uploading complaints to Consumer Sentinel

May 2014Conducted first Risk-based program review

• Education Service successfully deployed two online tools on the GI Bill website.• Feedback System (Centralized Complaint System)

– Launched January 30, 2014– Approximately 2,000 complaints submitted as of October, 2014.– The top issues identified by complainants were financial issues, quality of

education, and free text entry “other” category.• GI Bill Comparison Tool

– Launched February 4, 2014– Most popular school searched is University of Texas at Austin– As of May 20, 2014, there have been 410,000 unique visitors who have viewed

or interacted with the tool. More traffic than College Navigator and CFPB’s Paying for College Guide websites.

– Provides personalized calculation of GI Bill benefits.

Instituting the Principles of Excellence cont.

• Ensure your POC is knowledgeable about the rules and regulations– Join National Association of Veteran Program

Administrators– Learn the SCO Handbook and VA ONCE User Guide– Attend VA Education Service Quarterly Webinars

• Next scheduled for December 2014– Utilize training resources at

benefits.va.gov/gibill/school_training_resources.asp

Best Practices

• Hire a Workstudy Student– Students training ½ time or full-time may participate

• Paid the Federal or State minimum wage; whichever is higher– Type of approved work: Any veterans-related position in an

Institution of Higher Learning, such as:• Assisting with dissemination of general information regarding

Veteran benefits and/or services• Providing assistance to Veteran students with general

inquiries about Veteran benefits via phone, email, or in person

• Maintaining and organizing veteran-related files– Have interested students apply by visiting

benefits.va.gov/gibill/workstudy.asp

Best Practices cont.

• Federal Financial Aid (Title IV) does not affect the reported Tuition and Fees for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

• Determine college costs through Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Paying for College Tool.

• Using Title IV to pay for Tuition and Fees:– Can be applied after GI Bill or refunded to student per school policy

• Students are encouraged to complete FAFSA – VA counsels potential students to consider:

• What is a reasonable amount to pay for my degree?• What is the interest rate and when do I have to start paying the loan

back?

• Will I make enough money to repay my student loan debt?• Use VA Career and Educational Counseling (Chapter 36)

The GI Bill and Financial Aid

• Post-9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowance

– Calculated based on enrollment

• Those enrolled more than one-half time can qualify for a monthly housing allowance based on DoD's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rate for an E-5 with dependents.

• VA determines eligibility for housing allowance by calculating the rate of pursuit.

• Rate of pursuit is expressed in a percentage calculated by dividing the number of credits in which the student is enrolled by the number of credits considered to be full time.

• A student with a rate of pursuit greater than 50% can qualify for the housing allowance.

• Paid at the nearest 10% level

– Distance (online) learning only and Foreign School

• $754.50 a month for the 2014 - 2015 academic year

• This amount is 1/2 the national average BAH rate

• $1,509 for those attending a foreign school

The GI Bill and Financial Aid cont.

• GI Bill School Official Resource page: www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/school_resources.asp

• School Certifying Official Handbook: http://benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/docs/job_aids/SCO_Handbook.pdf

• Education Service Webinar Archive: www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/resources/education_resources/school_certifying_officials/presentations.asp

• GI Bill Comparison Tool: benefits.va.gov/gibill/comparison

• Centralized Complaint System (VA): www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/Feedback.asp

• VA Employment Center for Veterans: www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs

• VA Career and Educational Counseling: www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/edu_voc_counseling.asp

• National Association of Veteran’s Program Administrators: www.navpa.org/

• CFPB Paying for College: www.consumerfinance.gov/paying-for-college/

• VA ONCE Guide: http://benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/docs/vaonce/VAONCE_SCO_PowerPoint_v7.pdf

Resources